I don't know how to express how impressive this book is. Intelligent, inventive, funny and different is how I'd describe it. Richard Beard takes on the story of Lazarus whom Jesus raised from the dead and draws a picture of a man who is Jesus' only real friend and who needs to die. Lazarus is not a particularly sympathetic character but is precisely what this story needs, a sort of anti-Christ. It is well written and thoughtfully put together, especially the quotes and themes he draws in from other novels, plays, and artwork. The only Biblical mistake I found was a mention of King Samuel trying to talk to the dead Saul at the witch's house - it was actually King Saul trying to reach out to the dead prophet Samuel.

* I received this book for free from Goodreads First Reads. ( )

Unsurprisingly, this book came to me free from a GoodReads drawing. Despite its free-ness, I'll give it my honest review below.

In many ways this book fails. It's not especially dramatic. It's certainly not funny and in almost every way not even very entertaining. Yet for some ineffable reason it did drag me along to the very end. The problem is that I just can't put my finger on why. I've read more than my share of really poor books and this isn't a poorly written book. On the contrary it's very well constructed, artfully executed and professional.

If I had to put forth a theory I'd say that it's most probable that I was drawn forward in this book by the vacuum of my own ignorance. The story, in a nutshell that's sure not to actually spoil anything, is a fictionalized account of the life of Lazarus. Based on the Wikipedia entry describing Lazarus the book is not too far off the historical version of the man. The real Lazarus seems to have lived a life of variety and suffering just as our fictional one did. However, since I intentionally read every book without previous research, I had no idea who this Lazarus person was. If you had asked me before to describe him the answer would have been more or less:

"Lazarus...? someone from the Bible... maybe started a department store chain?"

That would entirely sum it up. For every tiny event in the book the question, "Is this true or not...?" rolled through my head and it is that question, echoing through page after page that I think drew me on to the end.

So now the question is, what good does any of this information do for you, the potential reader? I am tempted to suggest that readers should first acquaint themselves with this Lazarus person before diving in. However that would cause those who are susceptible to the "pull of ignorance" to be less motivated to read the book. Contrarily, I'm guessing there are those who would benefit from a bit of foreknowledge of what they're supposed to be reading about. Those who are merely interested in a good story will fit into this group. The third category of reader, those who know their bibles without the use of Wikipedia, I suspect will enjoy this book the most since it offers some potential insight into what Jesus's youth just might have been like. Just take it all with a grain of salt or two. ( )

Interesting book about the friendship between Jesus and Lazarus and the "truth" behind his being brought back from the dead. ( )

Rating: 4* of five

The Publisher Says: Brimming with wit and humor, Lazarus Is Dead transcends genres as it recounts the story of a great friendship lost and re-found.

In the gospels Jesus is described as having only one friend, and when this friend dies, Jesus does something that he does nowhere else in the Bible. He weeps. Novelist Richard Beard begins here. Mixing Biblical sources, historical detail, fascinating references to music, art, and writers as diverse as Kahlil Gibran and Norman Mailer, and abundant reserves of creative invention, Beard gives us his astonishing and amusing take on the greatest story ever told about second chances.

As children, Lazarus and Jesus were thick as thieves. But following a mysterious event, their friendship dwindled in early adulthood. One man struck out and became a flamboyant and successful businessman, the other stayed behind to learn a trade, and ultimately to find his calling in an unprecedented mix of spirituality and revolutionary zeal. Lazarus Is Dead is set during the final period in each man’s life—or, to be more precise, each man’s first life. Both know the end is near and, though they’re loath to admit it, they long for reconciliation. For that to happen they will need to find reasons to believe in each other before time runs out.

My Review: *Europa Editions sent me an ARC for review.*

Lazarus has always bothered me. In the times of my life when learning about the holey babble was a survival mechanism, I was always verschmeckeled by the point of bringing the dead guy back and then just dropping the storyline like the actor got a better part somewhere else. Okay! Cool! Back among the living, and...and...?

Looks like Beard had much the same response. He did something about it. (Well, I did too, but kicking christianity to the curb wasn't Beard's response.) He imagined the story again, from the top, and made sense of it without deviating from the biblical account. He added to the biblical account, but didn't change what was there.

And you know what? This is a good damn book, because it's based on a damn good story. Is it gut-bustingly, raucous-guffawingly funny? No...it's sly and witty and erudite, like a joke Voltaire would tell, not one Adam Sandler would tell. The pleasure of reading the book is in savoring, not in slurping it up.

Beard's not one to waste time on explanation, though, so if you're interested in getting the maximum amount of smirk per page, read this with Wikipedia open and look up things you don't know about. I promise you Beard didn't do that, but you're reading the book where he had to think it up and write it. His is a heavier burden. You get to skate on the surface.

But what a surface. Lazarus...the dead man walking...the holy zombie, my father called him to the screeching fury of my mother. Is there a better story in the bible? Well, apart from the rape and incest bits. They're all over the place, just open 'er up and start skimming. He rose from the dead! How cool is that! Beard's imagining of it is pretty cool, and very human. How many writers would think to have the resurrected guy take a bath, and smell his breath to be sure it's not stinky? Human details like this make the story one to savor.

And as a teaser, pay attention to how the chapters are numbered. There's a game in there. These are sixteen well-spent dollars for you who will buy the book. ( )

Lazarus raising from the dead is the last, and arguably most famous of Jesus's public miracles resulting in two of the most famous Biblical quotes: "I am the resurrection and the life" and "Jesus Wept". The thing is only John mentions Lazarus - and that was written about 100 years after the other Gospels, and the problem with John, as well all know (do we all know this? My uncle used to be a Benedictine monk. Maybe this isn't common knowledge) John is... less dependable. Beard himself says it hilariously well "Mark is considered the most factually accurate. Matthew and Luke base their accounts on Mark, while John is closer to the kind of writing known today as creative non-fiction." So yes. Creative non-fiction. Historical Fact.

Whatever. Anyways. Beard's novel focus around the detail that Lazarus is described as Jesus' friend - something Jesus has few of. Why is it Lazarus' death that causes Jesus to weep? Why did the first three gospel writers omit Lazarus from their version of historical record? Beard traces the history of Jesus' friendship with Lazarus, then their more adult lives. I don't really want to get into much detail here (because you know. Spoilers) so I'm going to tell you what I think about the book.In the best possible way, I don't actually know what to make of the book. Stylistically, Beard is close to perfect, flippant but never trivial, and enough probability is added to the core of Lazarus's story to make you care about his eventual fate (or you know, one of the two options that Beard gives. Which is true? Who knows). But about the book itself I don't actually know quite what to make of it. It bounces between speculative fiction and more realistic textual analysis. It's a made up (or not) (but maybe?) (but really, too complex a debate for Goodreads) Biography of the man who was arguably Jesus' only friend.

Complicated, I know.

When you read it you'll understand.Lazarus is Dead is arguably the most unusual and original book I've read in a while and I read a lot of odd books. Call it speculative fiction, or whatever you want, and go get a copy when it comes out. It's very very much well worth a read. You'll probably put it down and be a little confused and fairly thoughtful about what is fiction, what is fact and the stories none of us know, but wish we did. ( )